Pa. lawmakers react to swearing-in of Biden, Harris
Congressmen and senators representing Southwestern Pennsylvania weighed in on Wednesday’s swearing-in of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris with messages focusing largely on Biden’s call for unity in addressing the major problems facing the nation. Here’s what they had to say in statements and on social media:U.S. Sen....
Proud Boys organizer arrested in Florida for riot at U.S. Capitol
ORLANDO — Two Florida men, including a self-described organizer for the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, were arrested Wednesday for taking part in the siege of the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, authorities said. Joseph Biggs, 37, was arrested in central Florida and faces charges of obstructing an official...
On Day One, Biden targets Trump policies on climate, coronavirusVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is moving swiftly to dismantle Donald Trump’s legacy on his first day in office, signing a series of executive actions that reverse course on immigration, climate change, racial equity and the handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The new president signed the orders just hours after...
Connecticut man charged with pinning officer during U.S. Capitol attackVideo
HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut man seen in a widely viewed video pinning an officer into a doorway during the attack on the U.S. Capitol has been charged with assaulting police officers, federal authorities said Wednesday. Patrick McCaughey III, 23, of Ridgefield, was arrested Tuesday in South Salem, N.Y., on...
Next up: $730M Powerball prize after no Mega Millions winner
DES MOINES, Iowa — Thanks to math and bad luck, lottery players will have another shot at a giant jackpot tonight as a $730 million Powerball prize is on the line. The Powerball jackpot is the fifth-largest ever, and it will come only a day after nobody won the even-larger...
Style, fashion play at President Biden’s inauguration
Inauguration Day was a bold and blue day. The new first lady Jill Biden on Wednesday wore an ocean-blue dress by designer Alexandra O’Neill and matching long coat and gloves as she accompanied her husband, President Joe Biden. President Biden donned a blue tie and blue suit and overcoat by...
Text of Joe Biden’s inaugural address as the 46th president
President Joe Biden’s inaugural address Wednesday, as provided by CQ Transcripts: Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris. Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, and my distinguished guests, my fellow Americans, this is America’s day. This is democracy’s day. A day of history and hope, of renewal and...
Joe Biden’s inauguration goes off with no security issues
WASHINGTON — Troops in riot gear lined the streets of the nation’s capitol, but there were no crowds. Armored vehicles and concrete barriers blocked the empty streets around the U.S. Capitol. From behind miles of fencing, Joe Biden was safely sworn in as president in a Washington on edge, two...
China hits Trump officials with travel bans, business restrictions on their way out
WASHINGTON — China imposed sanctions on nearly 30 former Trump administration officials moments after they left office on Wednesday. In a statement released just minutes after President Joe Biden was inaugurated, Beijing slapped travel bans and business restrictions on Trump’s secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, national security adviser Robert O’Brien...
As coronavirus surges, states reporting shortages of vaccine
NEW YORK — The push to inoculate Americans against the coronavirus is hitting a roadblock: A number of states are reporting they are running out of vaccine, and tens of thousands of people who managed to get appointments for a first dose are seeing them canceled. About half of the...
Pa. game commission proposes ‘unlimited’ antlerless tags for deer hunters statewide
Year-in and year-out, Pennsylvania’s deer hunters look forward to July, which marks the start of the antlerless deer license application process. This year, they may need to pay close attention to the process, especially if they apply for more than one or two permits, because the state is considering revamping...
Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman: ‘Even as we grieved, we grew’Video
The country has a new president and may well have a new literary star. In one of the inauguration’s most talked about moments, poet Amanda Gorman summoned images dire and triumphant Wednesday as she called out to the world “even as we grieved, we grew.” The 22-year-old Gorman referenced everything...
Joe Biden takes the helm as 46th president: ‘Democracy has prevailed’
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, declaring that “democracy has prevailed” as he took the helm of a deeply divided nation and inherited a confluence of crises arguably greater than any faced by his predecessors. “The will of the people has been...
Biden’s Bible puts him in line with inaugural tradition
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took their oaths of office on Wednesday using Bibles that are laden with personal meaning, writing new chapters in a long-running American tradition — and one that appears nowhere in the law. The Constitution does not require the use of a specific text...
Indian village cheers for Kamala Harris during swearing-in as U.S. vice president
THULASENDRAPURAM, India — Residents of a tiny Indian village surrounded by rice paddies flocked to a Hindu temple, setting off firecrackers and praying and as they watched Kamala Harris, who has strong roots to the village, take her oath of office and become the U.S. vice president on Wednesday. Groups...
Pennsylvania reports 401 coronavirus deaths, 5,984 cases
Pennsylvania added 401 coronavirus deaths to its total Wednesday, which rose to 19,868, according to the state’s health department. The state also added 5,984 covid cases to raise the total to 783,170 since the pandemic began in March. It’s the third-highest single-day report of deaths, with only 554 on May...
Kamala Harris sworn in as vice president, breaking gender and racial barriers in American politics
Vice President Kamala Harris broke the barrier Wednesday that has kept men at the top ranks of American power for more than two centuries when she took the oath to hold the nation’s second-highest office. Harris was sworn in as the nation’s first female vice president — and the first...
Photos: The inauguration of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris
“The will of the people has been heard, and the will of the people has been heeded. We’ve learned again that democracy is precious and democracy is fragile. At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed,” Biden said. “This is America’s day. This is democracy’s day. A day in history...
Football great Brian Urlacher’s brother pardoned by Trump
CHICAGO — The brother of Chicago Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, who faced federal charges that he recruited for a multi-million dollar illegal offshore gambling ring, has been pardoned by President Donald Trump. Casey Urlacher, the mayor of the tiny Chicago suburb of Mettawa, was among those pardoned...
Inauguration Live: VP talks up ‘American aspiration’ in 1st speechVideo
9:40 Kamala Harris talked about the power of “American aspiration” in her first speech to the nation as vice president. With the Washington Monument lit up behind her Wednesday night, Harris called on Americans to remember “we are undaunted in our belief that we shall overcome, that we will rise...
Trump predicts ‘success’ for new administrationVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he thinks the new administration will have “great success” and claims to have laid the foundation for it. In making his brief farewell remarks Wednesday morning at Maryland’s Joint Base Andrews, Trump said the new administration has the “foundation to do something really spectacular.”...
Germany to ban practice of killing newly hatched male chicks
BERLIN — The German government plans to ban the practice of killing male chicks after they hatch, which results in the death of around 45 million birds per year in the country. The Cabinet on Wednesday approved legislation that will prohibit the practice from Jan. 1 next year. Government spokeswoman...
EU sighs with relief as Biden readies to enter White House
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s top officials breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday that Joe Biden will be taking over as president of the United States, but they warned that the world has changed after four years of Donald Trump and that trans-Atlantic ties will be different in the...
Biden takes the helm as president: ‘Democracy has prevailed’
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, declaring that “democracy has prevailed” and summoning American resilience and unity to confront the deeply divided nation’s historic confluence of crises. Biden took the oath at a U.S. Capitol that had been battered...
Trump leaves White House, says ‘It’s been a great honor’Video
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump pumped his fist and waved as he departed the White House on Marine One Wednesday for the last time as president, leaving behind a legacy of chaos and tumult and a nation bitterly divided. Four years after standing on stage at his own inauguration and painting...
